States to Watch on Parent Trigger, Vouchers

Most states begin legislative sessions in spring 2013, and several lawmakers have already indicated they will introduce Parent Trigger or school voucher legislation. Here’s a list.

Parent Trigger: These laws, passed in seven states, allow a majority of parents whose children attend a failing school to require a specific reform by signing a petition. A trigger bill is pending in Michigan, and Oklahoma state Sen. David Holt (R-Oklahoma City) said he will propose one in 2013.

Vouchers: Tennessee and Pennsylvania recently attempted and failed several times to pass voucher or tax-credit scholarship (TCS) laws. Vouchers allow children to take their state per-pupil funding to any school their parents choose, while TCSs allow businesses and individuals to tax-deduct donations to scholarship-granting nonprofits. Although Pennsylvania Republicans have repeatedly dropped charter legislation and education funding reforms, Tennessee looks more likely to allow school choice. In Texas, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) has said he will prioritize school vouchers, and new Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick (R-Houston) supports school choice.

Legislators and grassroots organizations in Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, and Wisconsin have also expressed interest in introducing or expanding statewide school choice.

Author bio:

Joy Pullmann is a research fellow on education policy for The Heartland Institute and managing editor of The Federalist, a web magazine on politics, policy, and culture. She is also a former managing editor of School Reform News. In that capacity, Pullmann interviewed and produced podcasts with many of the leading figures in school reform. Before that, she was the assistant editor for American Magazine at the American Enterprise Institute.

She is also the 2013-14 recipient of a Robert Novak journalism fellowship for in-depth reporting on Common Core national education standards.

Pullmann has been published by the New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Weekly Standard, Washington Times, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Salt Lake Tribune, Ricochet.com, National Review Online, Real Clear Policy,and various other U.S. newspapers and outlets. Pullmann has written a series of Research & Commentary reports on the Parent Trigger, a new school reform idea sweeping the country, and is coauthor with Joseph L. Bast of “Design Guidelines for Parent Triggers” (Heartland Institute, 2012).

Pullmann has taught middle and high school students history, literature, and debate, and wrote high school public speaking curriculum. She has traveled nationwide to speak at prominent venues including CPAC, the National Right to Life Convention, and statewide education conferences. She has been a guest on numerous talk shows, including Fox & Friends, the John Stossel show, and the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal.

Pullmann graduated from the Hillsdale College honors program with an English major and journalism concentration, where she received statewide competitive collegiate honors for her reporting and commentary and ranked in the top 25 nationally in parliamentary debate.